So you know how I'll read just about anything and usually end up believing what I read, for about 5 minutes anyway?
I amused myself this week. I read a book by a lady who says she is a dog psychic and for the price of her book she can teach you, too, to communicate with animals! (I got it from the library though).
So anyway she explains how to connect with the animal and have these "conversations" in your head, and the thoughts are really coming from them, but they understand you perfectly.
I tried it. You should have been there. Dog in lap. Prolonged eye contact. Serious expression on my face, befuddled one on his. And I'm thinking as hard as I can (have you ever tried to do that? Is there a muscle you can flex to make it work better?) and supposedly he's able to understand. I was saying to him "Don't piss on my carpet, don't piss on my carpet, don't piss on my carpet, don't piss on my carpet........."
He said back "It's too freaking cold out to piss in the garage, you dumbass"
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Meow
Today was William's big day! He had ECFE. That is early childhood family education, for those who aren't familiar with it. All of his older siblings went at some point and now it is his turn. It's really a nice experience for kid and parent both; there are activities together and then we split up for 20 minutes and the kids are together in a group with Max and Judy, who are famous preschool teachers hereabouts.
The first 3 were right in a row so I saw a lot of Max and Judy for a few years there and we became good friends. I was so touched when I ran into each of them separately last month and they both asked if I was mad at them...haha! In reality their class times havent matched our schedule yet for William to go. This time it finally matched up, and I was so excited to show them this little guy with his amazing language skills. We have finally seen the end of the "William Baby" phase that was getting so annoying there for awhile.
So of course he wouldn't talk. Or sign. He meowed. Yes, the child meowed all evening. "William, do you like apple juice?" "Meow" "William, how about you come over here and play with these nice trucks with me while mommy goes to talk with the other moms and dads" "Meow"
And so on and so forth. By the way, the meows meant "no". He didn't want to do a thing.
I was almost embarrassed. By kid number 4 that is hard to accomplish! I told Judy that I hadn't expected him to be reticent but that it's really not surprising considering that he has never gone to daycare or anywhere but here or Charlottes (making excuses, see). Judy's answer was so cute: "We broke the first three in, we'll break this one in too!" And Max, bless her heart, asked the children if they have kitties at home too.
So then after I had spent 2 hours at preschool with a damn cat, we got in the car to go home, and the cat says "Mommy, we should go to the bakery to get a cookie. It will be dark in there but I can turn the light on."
The cat went to the bakery for a cookie.
My favorite part of the entire experience was the leaving home and the arriving back. When we were getting our coats on to go, the 'big kids" came one by one to tell him to have a good time at preschool and to give him insider tips ("There's good trucks there" from Lij). Best of all, when we arrived home, we walked in the door and William grandly announced "GUYS! IM BACK!" (and they came running, too!)
.............
Story from this morning. It was realllly cold at the bus stop for the 3 big kids. The bus was late and they were getting too cold standing there so they democratically decided that Benjamin, being the fastest runner, would run back to the house and get daddy to come in the truck so they could be warm. Mission was accomplished with blazing speed.
And news you can use: Lij told me that if he burps with his mouth closed he can still hear it. Such talent! Such class! That's my boy!
What would we do without these little guys to keep us entertained?
....................
I also want to comment on the passing of a very specia deaf guy named Malcom. He was a very unique and funny dog who belonged to my friend Trudy and her husband Randy. I never actually met Mal, but I've heard about him for years; when I sent pictures of the kids I got Mal back :) He became a big brother for the first time just a few weeks before his death and now his mom and dad have baby Eavan to help them feel better. So, Trudy, here's a tribute to your special guy! I won't forget him.
One more thing. Mom's cousin Jan (one of the 200 gazillion, but one of the closer ones) is down to her final hours. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before Christmas and her time has already come. Her mom, who was my grandpa's sister, died of it when I was in college. It's a horrible, nasty, disease and she is leaving behind a family that loves her very much. She features prominently in my earliest memories (otherwise known as "the Lewis Days"). If you're the praying kind, send a prayer that her passing will be peaceful, as this kind of death is physically torturous and it's becoming very difficult for her family to watch as she was a vibrant and strong person. If you want to see her Caring Bridge site, the address is www.caringbridge.com/visit/jankurkowski
The first 3 were right in a row so I saw a lot of Max and Judy for a few years there and we became good friends. I was so touched when I ran into each of them separately last month and they both asked if I was mad at them...haha! In reality their class times havent matched our schedule yet for William to go. This time it finally matched up, and I was so excited to show them this little guy with his amazing language skills. We have finally seen the end of the "William Baby" phase that was getting so annoying there for awhile.
So of course he wouldn't talk. Or sign. He meowed. Yes, the child meowed all evening. "William, do you like apple juice?" "Meow" "William, how about you come over here and play with these nice trucks with me while mommy goes to talk with the other moms and dads" "Meow"
And so on and so forth. By the way, the meows meant "no". He didn't want to do a thing.
I was almost embarrassed. By kid number 4 that is hard to accomplish! I told Judy that I hadn't expected him to be reticent but that it's really not surprising considering that he has never gone to daycare or anywhere but here or Charlottes (making excuses, see). Judy's answer was so cute: "We broke the first three in, we'll break this one in too!" And Max, bless her heart, asked the children if they have kitties at home too.
So then after I had spent 2 hours at preschool with a damn cat, we got in the car to go home, and the cat says "Mommy, we should go to the bakery to get a cookie. It will be dark in there but I can turn the light on."
The cat went to the bakery for a cookie.
My favorite part of the entire experience was the leaving home and the arriving back. When we were getting our coats on to go, the 'big kids" came one by one to tell him to have a good time at preschool and to give him insider tips ("There's good trucks there" from Lij). Best of all, when we arrived home, we walked in the door and William grandly announced "GUYS! IM BACK!" (and they came running, too!)
.............
Story from this morning. It was realllly cold at the bus stop for the 3 big kids. The bus was late and they were getting too cold standing there so they democratically decided that Benjamin, being the fastest runner, would run back to the house and get daddy to come in the truck so they could be warm. Mission was accomplished with blazing speed.
And news you can use: Lij told me that if he burps with his mouth closed he can still hear it. Such talent! Such class! That's my boy!
What would we do without these little guys to keep us entertained?
....................
I also want to comment on the passing of a very specia deaf guy named Malcom. He was a very unique and funny dog who belonged to my friend Trudy and her husband Randy. I never actually met Mal, but I've heard about him for years; when I sent pictures of the kids I got Mal back :) He became a big brother for the first time just a few weeks before his death and now his mom and dad have baby Eavan to help them feel better. So, Trudy, here's a tribute to your special guy! I won't forget him.
One more thing. Mom's cousin Jan (one of the 200 gazillion, but one of the closer ones) is down to her final hours. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before Christmas and her time has already come. Her mom, who was my grandpa's sister, died of it when I was in college. It's a horrible, nasty, disease and she is leaving behind a family that loves her very much. She features prominently in my earliest memories (otherwise known as "the Lewis Days"). If you're the praying kind, send a prayer that her passing will be peaceful, as this kind of death is physically torturous and it's becoming very difficult for her family to watch as she was a vibrant and strong person. If you want to see her Caring Bridge site, the address is www.caringbridge.com/visit/jankurkowski
Saturday, January 26, 2008
They're leaving onnnn a jetplaaaaaannneee
Pretending to! They have the cabin of a 747 set up in the living room and say they are heading to see Grandma in Las Vegas. I thought that was cute.
But let me tell you about my week......it's finally getting almost funny. The day Zac was so sick and went to the hospital, WHILE we were getting him ready to go, Brian went downstairs to do something and saw ceiling tiles collapsing and water pouring through. I saw him run across the kitchen/living room and into the bathroom. He came out in shock. It seems Wils was planning on a bath with mommy (we sometimes put our swimming suits on and have a nice warm bath in the afternoon when I am home with him) and he forgot he had turned the tub on (usually I will tell him to go start our bath). It must have been running for a good hour in the least. There were 2 inches of water in the upstairs bathroom, pouring into our bedroom, soaking the closet carpet, and pouring through the floor to the basement where it collapsed the majority of the ceiling tiles. Let me tell you---------am I glad we went for the hanging ceiling!
So Brian starts grabbing at what little hair he has left; I told him to go get the shop vac and he said it was too late. Well, see, yeah, it's too late to save your ceiling, but you still have to soak up the water! Waiting for it to evaporate didn't sound viable! I ended up shop vaccing up most of the main bathroom so he would have a while to gather his (precious few) wits about him. Then I took of with sick baby and he had to handle the basement, which was quite a bit worse! Even Ana's ceiling collapsed. The furniture, everything..soaked. The carpets just reek. The good news is they needed replacing anyway, so that's not a real big loss. We might even be able to get homeowners insurance to help with that in which case we came out ahead. However........based on the way this week has gone...........I'm just going to assume there is a $20,000 deductible and our premiums will go up just for telling him.
So then I spend the night in the hospital with baby; thankfully he turned out to be OK, that really could have been bad. So don't get me wrong, we know what's really important and are grateful he is OK.
The next day was supposed to be my first day of hospital clinicals for nursing school. They just DRILL into you that you are NEVER to miss a clinical. So I grew 100 gray hairs and an ulcer and then I emailed my instructor and told her I'd try to find someone to hold him (i.e. Charlotte) while I ran downstairs for my clinical in the morning. Fortunately she had more sense than I did and told me to stay put; she said I wouldnt' be able to concentrate on learning anyway with a sick baby up in peds. She said we would make it up later. I REALLY appreciated that!
So Zac goes home and I am able to go the 2nd day of clinicals, which is when you actually work with real patients in the hospital. Keep in mind this is my first time, first day, first everything.
And I get the world's worst patient. Fat old black chick with major attitude, black talk, and NO TEETH!!! You think I could understand her AT ALL? So i grew 100 more gray hairs, reopened the ulcer, and reminded my instructor I won't be working in a hospital. Again, she was gracious about it, and said the patient was just a difficult one and they won't all be that way. Which is good because if they are I'm staying right here in mental health where at least we can give them haldol when they are assholes.
It's not over. We got a $700 propane bill because the cost went up so much and we have a humongous house (which as most of you know I hate for precisely that reason).
Then yesterday Ana came home at 3:00 because of a bad asthma attack. She hasn't had one in a good year. The nurse said it was bad enough to scare her (the nurse) and she was lucky to catch it when she did or it would have been another hospital visit.
There are 4 hours yet til midnight and I'm still sitting on pins and needles.
But let me tell you about my week......it's finally getting almost funny. The day Zac was so sick and went to the hospital, WHILE we were getting him ready to go, Brian went downstairs to do something and saw ceiling tiles collapsing and water pouring through. I saw him run across the kitchen/living room and into the bathroom. He came out in shock. It seems Wils was planning on a bath with mommy (we sometimes put our swimming suits on and have a nice warm bath in the afternoon when I am home with him) and he forgot he had turned the tub on (usually I will tell him to go start our bath). It must have been running for a good hour in the least. There were 2 inches of water in the upstairs bathroom, pouring into our bedroom, soaking the closet carpet, and pouring through the floor to the basement where it collapsed the majority of the ceiling tiles. Let me tell you---------am I glad we went for the hanging ceiling!
So Brian starts grabbing at what little hair he has left; I told him to go get the shop vac and he said it was too late. Well, see, yeah, it's too late to save your ceiling, but you still have to soak up the water! Waiting for it to evaporate didn't sound viable! I ended up shop vaccing up most of the main bathroom so he would have a while to gather his (precious few) wits about him. Then I took of with sick baby and he had to handle the basement, which was quite a bit worse! Even Ana's ceiling collapsed. The furniture, everything..soaked. The carpets just reek. The good news is they needed replacing anyway, so that's not a real big loss. We might even be able to get homeowners insurance to help with that in which case we came out ahead. However........based on the way this week has gone...........I'm just going to assume there is a $20,000 deductible and our premiums will go up just for telling him.
So then I spend the night in the hospital with baby; thankfully he turned out to be OK, that really could have been bad. So don't get me wrong, we know what's really important and are grateful he is OK.
The next day was supposed to be my first day of hospital clinicals for nursing school. They just DRILL into you that you are NEVER to miss a clinical. So I grew 100 gray hairs and an ulcer and then I emailed my instructor and told her I'd try to find someone to hold him (i.e. Charlotte) while I ran downstairs for my clinical in the morning. Fortunately she had more sense than I did and told me to stay put; she said I wouldnt' be able to concentrate on learning anyway with a sick baby up in peds. She said we would make it up later. I REALLY appreciated that!
So Zac goes home and I am able to go the 2nd day of clinicals, which is when you actually work with real patients in the hospital. Keep in mind this is my first time, first day, first everything.
And I get the world's worst patient. Fat old black chick with major attitude, black talk, and NO TEETH!!! You think I could understand her AT ALL? So i grew 100 more gray hairs, reopened the ulcer, and reminded my instructor I won't be working in a hospital. Again, she was gracious about it, and said the patient was just a difficult one and they won't all be that way. Which is good because if they are I'm staying right here in mental health where at least we can give them haldol when they are assholes.
It's not over. We got a $700 propane bill because the cost went up so much and we have a humongous house (which as most of you know I hate for precisely that reason).
Then yesterday Ana came home at 3:00 because of a bad asthma attack. She hasn't had one in a good year. The nurse said it was bad enough to scare her (the nurse) and she was lucky to catch it when she did or it would have been another hospital visit.
There are 4 hours yet til midnight and I'm still sitting on pins and needles.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
much better muffins!
He doesn't have meningitis; it's RSV with some secondary infections and severe dehydration. Still no picnic for fuzzyboy or mommy (or daddy or siblings or gramma in las vegas) but he is well on the mend. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, they obviously work! It was almost embarrassing how much better he was today. He was loud and jabbery. I felt like telling people he really HAD been super sick just yesterday :) Funny boy. We are home already, believe it or not. The admitting doc thought he would be there a couple days but he bounced back so fast.
I need to add my daily comic relief. You know I'm addicted to chocolate chips, right? So on my way to the hospital I grabbed a baggie full so i would have some in the morning when I "needed" it. Which I did. But he was so grabby this morning he was reaching into my little baggie with me and I must have missed a few chips that fell onto my little futon bed which was covered in a white sheet. We pretty much hung out on that futon because there was no WAY he was going in that crib (his words, not mine). So anyway at one point I got up to do something (carrying the ill one) and happened to look back where we had been sitting and it looked for all the world like someone took a crap on that bed. The heat of my rear end had melted the chocolate chips that the poor sick baby dropped down there. That also meant that my rear end was similarly adorned. Being stuck there, I had no recourse but to continue wearing the same pants. I wanted to wear a post-it that said "it's chocolate, not shit". I DID tell the housekeeping lady that.
I need to add my daily comic relief. You know I'm addicted to chocolate chips, right? So on my way to the hospital I grabbed a baggie full so i would have some in the morning when I "needed" it. Which I did. But he was so grabby this morning he was reaching into my little baggie with me and I must have missed a few chips that fell onto my little futon bed which was covered in a white sheet. We pretty much hung out on that futon because there was no WAY he was going in that crib (his words, not mine). So anyway at one point I got up to do something (carrying the ill one) and happened to look back where we had been sitting and it looked for all the world like someone took a crap on that bed. The heat of my rear end had melted the chocolate chips that the poor sick baby dropped down there. That also meant that my rear end was similarly adorned. Being stuck there, I had no recourse but to continue wearing the same pants. I wanted to wear a post-it that said "it's chocolate, not shit". I DID tell the housekeeping lady that.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
very sick baby
Scary news, just wanted to let you all know quickly. Zaccy is going into the hospital with possible meningitis. His WBC are 18,000 and his pulse is 175. Resp. over 100. He will probably have a spinal tap tonight :( I will keep you posted as I can; in the meantime keep him in your prayers. Big siblings too as they are very worried!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ohhhhh yeeaaaaahhhhh
Wondering what this is about? I found a piece of paper that Ana has been working on. It's a song, a duet with Elijah, for the CD they plan to make (they are just FULL of creative ideas). And she has herself saying all these things like "A superstar gets a break" and then every few lines it goes: Elijah: "Oh yyyyyyyyeaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"
Oh, please, that visual has me laid flat and blind...I can't see for the tears....hahahahahahahahahahaha! "Ohh yeeaaaaahhhhhh!"
The other high point of my day was SpongeBob Squarepants. Yeah, I watch it. I'm an ardent fan. Ben and I together, that is. So today it was just hilarious. Patrick and Spongebob becasem parents to a baby clam. I'm not sure HOW they became parents, I missed the beginning. But anyway at first it has Spongebob with 8 arms doing the laundry, cleaning, holding the baby, spraying air freshener, doing the dishes, yada yada yada all at once. In the morning Patrick goes off to work. Then we see " 12 hours later" and Spongebob is still doing the same thing, same spot, and Patrick slouches through the front door and lays his fat butt in the recliner and turns on the TV. Then we have "2 weeks later" and it's the same thing. Over time we see Spongebob's face melting to the floor and his arms slowing down until finally one day he can't take it anymore and he lets Pat have it. He says "We made a commitment and you're not doing your part." Pat says "But I work all day". Spongebob turns red...................
Really it was quite a bit longer than that but that is a sample. Oh, another part, probably my favorite, Sponge starts out sweet and nice and not minding all the work at all. Then at the end when he is yelling at Patrick he immitates Patrick by putting on a stupid face with gappy teeth and all that and shows him watching TV.
Ouch :)
Just this weekend I told Brian he reminds me of patrick, and this was BEFORE this episode of Spongebob!
It was great comic relief for Ben and I.
Ohhh yeeeaaaaahhhh!!
It was SO perfect!
Oh, please, that visual has me laid flat and blind...I can't see for the tears....hahahahahahahahahahaha! "Ohh yeeaaaaahhhhhh!"
The other high point of my day was SpongeBob Squarepants. Yeah, I watch it. I'm an ardent fan. Ben and I together, that is. So today it was just hilarious. Patrick and Spongebob becasem parents to a baby clam. I'm not sure HOW they became parents, I missed the beginning. But anyway at first it has Spongebob with 8 arms doing the laundry, cleaning, holding the baby, spraying air freshener, doing the dishes, yada yada yada all at once. In the morning Patrick goes off to work. Then we see " 12 hours later" and Spongebob is still doing the same thing, same spot, and Patrick slouches through the front door and lays his fat butt in the recliner and turns on the TV. Then we have "2 weeks later" and it's the same thing. Over time we see Spongebob's face melting to the floor and his arms slowing down until finally one day he can't take it anymore and he lets Pat have it. He says "We made a commitment and you're not doing your part." Pat says "But I work all day". Spongebob turns red...................
Really it was quite a bit longer than that but that is a sample. Oh, another part, probably my favorite, Sponge starts out sweet and nice and not minding all the work at all. Then at the end when he is yelling at Patrick he immitates Patrick by putting on a stupid face with gappy teeth and all that and shows him watching TV.
Ouch :)
Just this weekend I told Brian he reminds me of patrick, and this was BEFORE this episode of Spongebob!
It was great comic relief for Ben and I.
Ohhh yeeeaaaaahhhh!!
It was SO perfect!
the playdate
Well, yesterday was the big day. Henry and Kate came over! They brought their mother for me to play with. We all had a nice visit. Ben and Henry are so cute, they are just pals. They haev these serious discussions about...who knows.
Henry, recall, is the guy who likes vacuums. So I had Brian's Dyson set up in the basement for them. Then while I was upstairs with the babies and Stacey, they apparently decided they wanted the Dyson upstairs, and the two of them carried it upstairs together. All of a sudden I just noticed they were vacuuming in the kitchen and knew I had put the Dyson in the basement so I went to ask how the Dyson got upstairs and they said they had carried it up together. I wish I had seen that. It's a big machine and they are little guys!
Wil and Lij hung around with them too. It was nice to see how well they all played together. I do think when they are all older they will share some common friends. Apparently Wil started to get bossy though; he told Henry not to vacuum the living room because that's HIS area (and it is; he is responsible for vacuuming it every night).
Now, the babies. They are 2 days apart so they go back quite a ways. It was really interesting to watch them interact as I got a glimpse of Zac's "real world" personality and what he might be like when he is a little older. The first thing I noticed is that he is a very curious little boy and is very determined to satisfy his curiousity. He wanted to know about Kate's eyes, mouth, and pigtails. So he poked her eyes, stuck his finger in her mouth, and grabbed her pigtails. Several times. She is more of a laid back girl and just sort of let him (we did intervene when the tiny finger went in the tiny eyes!). Another thing I noticed is that he is very bold; I saw no hesitance like I remember the others having even at that age. He just marched (in his own 4-legged way) over to check out the chick. And her mother; he climbed right up on her whenever he felt like it too.
I'll post pictures tonight, we got some cute ones. Big sister was a busy photographer. As soon as they left she said "I wish Kate was MINE".
Brian's birthday is today! We will do a bit of a party tonight. We don't even have to invite anyone because we have enough peeps right here.
Speaking of birthdays, last night Ariana and I were talking about dog years. She asked how old Minnie is in dog years, which would be 21 (using the 7 multiplier). Then she asked about Leo and we realized that he and I are both 35! I was so excited to tell him! But, get this, on his next birthday he'll jump ahead 7 years and be Brian's age instead.
Off to school--will post pictures later.
Henry, recall, is the guy who likes vacuums. So I had Brian's Dyson set up in the basement for them. Then while I was upstairs with the babies and Stacey, they apparently decided they wanted the Dyson upstairs, and the two of them carried it upstairs together. All of a sudden I just noticed they were vacuuming in the kitchen and knew I had put the Dyson in the basement so I went to ask how the Dyson got upstairs and they said they had carried it up together. I wish I had seen that. It's a big machine and they are little guys!
Wil and Lij hung around with them too. It was nice to see how well they all played together. I do think when they are all older they will share some common friends. Apparently Wil started to get bossy though; he told Henry not to vacuum the living room because that's HIS area (and it is; he is responsible for vacuuming it every night).
Now, the babies. They are 2 days apart so they go back quite a ways. It was really interesting to watch them interact as I got a glimpse of Zac's "real world" personality and what he might be like when he is a little older. The first thing I noticed is that he is a very curious little boy and is very determined to satisfy his curiousity. He wanted to know about Kate's eyes, mouth, and pigtails. So he poked her eyes, stuck his finger in her mouth, and grabbed her pigtails. Several times. She is more of a laid back girl and just sort of let him (we did intervene when the tiny finger went in the tiny eyes!). Another thing I noticed is that he is very bold; I saw no hesitance like I remember the others having even at that age. He just marched (in his own 4-legged way) over to check out the chick. And her mother; he climbed right up on her whenever he felt like it too.
I'll post pictures tonight, we got some cute ones. Big sister was a busy photographer. As soon as they left she said "I wish Kate was MINE".
Brian's birthday is today! We will do a bit of a party tonight. We don't even have to invite anyone because we have enough peeps right here.
Speaking of birthdays, last night Ariana and I were talking about dog years. She asked how old Minnie is in dog years, which would be 21 (using the 7 multiplier). Then she asked about Leo and we realized that he and I are both 35! I was so excited to tell him! But, get this, on his next birthday he'll jump ahead 7 years and be Brian's age instead.
Off to school--will post pictures later.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
a pug walked on my face
On a coworker's face, actually. There is a nurse on the night shift whom i pass when i leave and they come on and she has 2 puggies, too. She came in last night with a big scratch on her face and told me one of her pugs had walked over her face. She also mentioned that hers are so fat they need those special stairs to get up to her bed. Those things kill me (the dog stairs, but also the pugs!)
Here is an email I got from Ariana while I was here at work last night:
"Hi Mommy, RU busy, I don't want to go to bed early, I am OK, I am not even tired! I JUST CALLED YOU. Can you give me a question like where do you want to live when you grow up?"
I bit. I emailed back asking "So, Ana, tell me, where do you want to live when you grow up?"
Her answer? "Minnesota"
.........................................................................
That was somewhat anticlimatic so I had to supplement it with a couple more more questions. The first was "If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?" The second was "If you were an animal, which one would you be?"
Her answer to the first was that if she could have any pet in the world it would be a.................pug.
We appear to have a very content child on our hands.
Her answer to the 2nd question (if you were an animal, which would you be?) was.................whale, or cheetah.
I think the two are mutually exclusive, don't you? I mean, if you have the finesse and speed of a cheetah, what traits might you have that would also suggest a whaleish-ness? I'll have to probe this one a little deeper!
Til next time.
PS My mother is 60 tomorrow!!! Holy balls!
Here is an email I got from Ariana while I was here at work last night:
"Hi Mommy, RU busy, I don't want to go to bed early, I am OK, I am not even tired! I JUST CALLED YOU. Can you give me a question like where do you want to live when you grow up?"
I bit. I emailed back asking "So, Ana, tell me, where do you want to live when you grow up?"
Her answer? "Minnesota"
.........................................................................
That was somewhat anticlimatic so I had to supplement it with a couple more more questions. The first was "If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?" The second was "If you were an animal, which one would you be?"
Her answer to the first was that if she could have any pet in the world it would be a.................pug.
We appear to have a very content child on our hands.
Her answer to the 2nd question (if you were an animal, which would you be?) was.................whale, or cheetah.
I think the two are mutually exclusive, don't you? I mean, if you have the finesse and speed of a cheetah, what traits might you have that would also suggest a whaleish-ness? I'll have to probe this one a little deeper!
Til next time.
PS My mother is 60 tomorrow!!! Holy balls!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
the 3 hour shower
That's an exaggeration like most things I say. The story is that Ariana stayed all night at her sleepover and had a great time, but the host family is less than fastidious in their housekeeping. What I'm about to say is really mean, so if you think you might be offfended, stop reading. Otherwise keeping going...haha!
Let me start by saying that I do know the birthday girl's mom from ECFE with one of the boys and she is a very nice lady and seems to be a very loving mom. But, when i stopped by there last night to drop off Ariana's sleeping bag, I was taken back by the condition of their apartment. it was..............for lack of a better word.....................filthy! Oh, my God, when i think my house is dirty I'm talking some scattered toys and maybe a delay in my yearly dusting. This place was gross! The occupants are what we folks back in Luck refer to as dirtballs and what others may think of as white trash. Awful to say, I know, but I'm just being as descriptive as I can. I had my qualms about leaving her there but the family was very nice and Ariana was having a great time so I just made her promise to call if she wanted to come home or have friend's mom shove her in the backdoor of the bakery in the middle of the night (it's happened before, Brian is there and just takes her home replete in her pink pajamas).
Another thing i want to say about the mom (but shouldn't) is that I can understand why she doesn't clean. If she were to get down on her hands and knees I don't think she would get back up again without a Hoyer Lift. You know, one of those situations where instead of asking how tall she is one could ask how many feet wide she is. She won't be vacuuming until Sears comes out with a riding one.
Ana made it through the night just fine and I went to get her at 10 am. Apparently the housekeeper doesn't come on Friday nights because it was virtually unchanged. You know you have a filthy house when you have an 8 year old sleepover and the place doesn't look any different. Anyway she was all chatty and happy and had a great time, but boy....did we have dirt to dish on the way home. First she said she thought someone was murdered in the kitchen. Then she said the bathroom was even WORSE! Then she tells me she told her friend that her house was dirty and they should clean it. At this point I'm cracking up pretty good (think murder, people...the word is funny coming from an 8 year old referring to a kitchen).
We went to the bakery because she wanted coffee because they were awake until 1 in the morning. One of these days I'll explain that decaf doesn't do much for that condition...haha!
When we got home she went and stuffed everything, including her jacket, in the washing machine, and asked for a shower. Now, understand, I have to nag this child to take a shower. Sad but true. But here she is asking for one. She was in that shower til the hot water was gone and went through a lot of shampoo.
I'm so glad to know she doesn't like filth. I'm also kind of proud of her for not judging her friends by what they have or how their family lives. We both agree that we will have that friend over to our house (the poor child will probably want to eat off our floor) instead of her going there again.
Let me start by saying that I do know the birthday girl's mom from ECFE with one of the boys and she is a very nice lady and seems to be a very loving mom. But, when i stopped by there last night to drop off Ariana's sleeping bag, I was taken back by the condition of their apartment. it was..............for lack of a better word.....................filthy! Oh, my God, when i think my house is dirty I'm talking some scattered toys and maybe a delay in my yearly dusting. This place was gross! The occupants are what we folks back in Luck refer to as dirtballs and what others may think of as white trash. Awful to say, I know, but I'm just being as descriptive as I can. I had my qualms about leaving her there but the family was very nice and Ariana was having a great time so I just made her promise to call if she wanted to come home or have friend's mom shove her in the backdoor of the bakery in the middle of the night (it's happened before, Brian is there and just takes her home replete in her pink pajamas).
Another thing i want to say about the mom (but shouldn't) is that I can understand why she doesn't clean. If she were to get down on her hands and knees I don't think she would get back up again without a Hoyer Lift. You know, one of those situations where instead of asking how tall she is one could ask how many feet wide she is. She won't be vacuuming until Sears comes out with a riding one.
Ana made it through the night just fine and I went to get her at 10 am. Apparently the housekeeper doesn't come on Friday nights because it was virtually unchanged. You know you have a filthy house when you have an 8 year old sleepover and the place doesn't look any different. Anyway she was all chatty and happy and had a great time, but boy....did we have dirt to dish on the way home. First she said she thought someone was murdered in the kitchen. Then she said the bathroom was even WORSE! Then she tells me she told her friend that her house was dirty and they should clean it. At this point I'm cracking up pretty good (think murder, people...the word is funny coming from an 8 year old referring to a kitchen).
We went to the bakery because she wanted coffee because they were awake until 1 in the morning. One of these days I'll explain that decaf doesn't do much for that condition...haha!
When we got home she went and stuffed everything, including her jacket, in the washing machine, and asked for a shower. Now, understand, I have to nag this child to take a shower. Sad but true. But here she is asking for one. She was in that shower til the hot water was gone and went through a lot of shampoo.
I'm so glad to know she doesn't like filth. I'm also kind of proud of her for not judging her friends by what they have or how their family lives. We both agree that we will have that friend over to our house (the poor child will probably want to eat off our floor) instead of her going there again.
Friday, January 18, 2008
it's quiet here
Because I have only 4 kids. You would be amazed how easy 4 kids are when you are used to 5 (and 5 isn't bad either). Ariana is at a sleepover but I kind of hope she comes home. I'm half expecting it. She was nervous about it but also very excited.
I had a computer training at the hospital this morning as part of my clinical orientation. We have to know how to use their computer record system before we work up on the units. We are moving right along; they say this last semester goes incredibly fast, and that's fine! I tend to enjoy school but being done with this particular phase and finally earning some money will be a big relief. The next 6 weeks will be (as a coworker who is in the military says) "Balls to the wall" (I so hate that visual) but by the end of February I'll be done with the vast majority of my clinicals. Yay! All I'll have left for March is 4 evening clinicals at a group home. These busy 6 weeks will be tough on the little ones so keep them in your thoughts. They work as hard as I do to help us all get to our goal of mommy being a nurse. Brian as well has gone with even less sleep than usual. We know it will be well worth it!
Ben has been my entertainment today. I was home by about 1 pm and he asked if he could go to Joanie's house. I told him to call her. End result is that we talk and agree tomorrow would be best, so he is set for that. Well then he wants to call Grandma. I said sure (we have an awesome long distance plan, its very cheap so I'm fine with them calling Grandma as much as they need to). I was busy with baby and Ben called Grandma at work on her cell phone and invited himself to her house for a weekend. He also plans to bring his sister with. I thought that was cute so I called Joanie back and told her that he had set up more plans and this time was bringing Ana with him and Joanie informed me that he was planning to bring William with to her house tomorrow also. Well, I guess that guy had a to-do list today. He was very true to his nature the way he knocked those items off one after another. You know how sometimes you are making phone calls to get things set up and all that? That's basically what he did. Cracked me up :)
I had a computer training at the hospital this morning as part of my clinical orientation. We have to know how to use their computer record system before we work up on the units. We are moving right along; they say this last semester goes incredibly fast, and that's fine! I tend to enjoy school but being done with this particular phase and finally earning some money will be a big relief. The next 6 weeks will be (as a coworker who is in the military says) "Balls to the wall" (I so hate that visual) but by the end of February I'll be done with the vast majority of my clinicals. Yay! All I'll have left for March is 4 evening clinicals at a group home. These busy 6 weeks will be tough on the little ones so keep them in your thoughts. They work as hard as I do to help us all get to our goal of mommy being a nurse. Brian as well has gone with even less sleep than usual. We know it will be well worth it!
Ben has been my entertainment today. I was home by about 1 pm and he asked if he could go to Joanie's house. I told him to call her. End result is that we talk and agree tomorrow would be best, so he is set for that. Well then he wants to call Grandma. I said sure (we have an awesome long distance plan, its very cheap so I'm fine with them calling Grandma as much as they need to). I was busy with baby and Ben called Grandma at work on her cell phone and invited himself to her house for a weekend. He also plans to bring his sister with. I thought that was cute so I called Joanie back and told her that he had set up more plans and this time was bringing Ana with him and Joanie informed me that he was planning to bring William with to her house tomorrow also. Well, I guess that guy had a to-do list today. He was very true to his nature the way he knocked those items off one after another. You know how sometimes you are making phone calls to get things set up and all that? That's basically what he did. Cracked me up :)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada
Zac has been babbling up a storm and he's pretty funny. He makes tractor sounds with his lips (although of course he isnt trying to be a tractor, just making the sound), does this very wierd "cut cut cut cut cut cut" thing, and otherwise says "dada". ALL. THE. TIME.
So today I had a long and serious talk with him about it. I sat him on my lap facing me and told him that while I understand how much he loves his Dada, he really needs to say Mama once in a while. He listened very well, poking the ocasional tiny index finger into my mouth and going cross eyed with concentration. When I was done with my spiel, he looked into my eyes with great intensity and said....................."Dada?"
Benj took down his entire numberline and alphabet. I was so sad because I didnt even get a picture of it. However-----------when i asked him about it he said "I have to start over." I noticed later that he already has. I am SO calling Mrs. Trimble tomorrow to find out what she is putting in his odd little head.
I spent the afternoon at the school (I was off today). Lij is so nice to spend time at school with. He goes about his activities as he normally would, but he just wants me to sit with him, that's all. He wants me to hold his hand and he likes to be on my lap, some, too, but otherwise he is participating activities and reading time and all that. I couldn't help but notice again how well behaved he is at school. I mean he REALLY is. His teachers are very fond of him.
There is a boy in his class who is very disruptive; Elijah calls him "special needs", which he obviously is; he has a paraprofessional with him all the time and his behavior is really out of control. I feel really sorry for him (and for his para, and Mrs. Tulkki, and the other kids!) because he obviously has some severe issues, but for the first time I also find myself wondering if mainstreaming is going too far. He has no physical disabilities but probably the most severe emotional disturbances I've ever seen. He will literally scream and hit so his para has to hold him down with force and drag him from the room. This happens frequently and I havent yet seen any obvious provocation. Sometimes the other kids get hit, and always their learning is seriously disrupted. Mrs. Tulkki is obviously having a very difficult year because of him, and I feel for her.
I went to visit Ariana for just a minute and that was enough for both of us because any longer and I might have lost control and done something embarrassing. She has her friend Paige's sleepover tomorrow night and is so excited she can hardly bear it. I wonder if she will actually sleep over :) I always HATED sleepovers but thought I had to do them. Because of that I'm careful to ask if she really wants to do it and I make sure she understands she can come home if she gets lonesome.
William is William. What else can I say? He is hilarious and incredibly cute. He also has these tiny little devil horns starting to sprout and a tiny tail a-twitching and nobody can do anything about it because he is so damn cute we can't stay mad and that includes his siblings. Phrases out of his mouth today include "I don't like it when Elijah touches my toys" "I can play with Elijah's toys, yes I can!" "I want what Ben's eating"
I guess that's enough of an update for now. My dog awaits.
TGS
So today I had a long and serious talk with him about it. I sat him on my lap facing me and told him that while I understand how much he loves his Dada, he really needs to say Mama once in a while. He listened very well, poking the ocasional tiny index finger into my mouth and going cross eyed with concentration. When I was done with my spiel, he looked into my eyes with great intensity and said....................."Dada?"
Benj took down his entire numberline and alphabet. I was so sad because I didnt even get a picture of it. However-----------when i asked him about it he said "I have to start over." I noticed later that he already has. I am SO calling Mrs. Trimble tomorrow to find out what she is putting in his odd little head.
I spent the afternoon at the school (I was off today). Lij is so nice to spend time at school with. He goes about his activities as he normally would, but he just wants me to sit with him, that's all. He wants me to hold his hand and he likes to be on my lap, some, too, but otherwise he is participating activities and reading time and all that. I couldn't help but notice again how well behaved he is at school. I mean he REALLY is. His teachers are very fond of him.
There is a boy in his class who is very disruptive; Elijah calls him "special needs", which he obviously is; he has a paraprofessional with him all the time and his behavior is really out of control. I feel really sorry for him (and for his para, and Mrs. Tulkki, and the other kids!) because he obviously has some severe issues, but for the first time I also find myself wondering if mainstreaming is going too far. He has no physical disabilities but probably the most severe emotional disturbances I've ever seen. He will literally scream and hit so his para has to hold him down with force and drag him from the room. This happens frequently and I havent yet seen any obvious provocation. Sometimes the other kids get hit, and always their learning is seriously disrupted. Mrs. Tulkki is obviously having a very difficult year because of him, and I feel for her.
I went to visit Ariana for just a minute and that was enough for both of us because any longer and I might have lost control and done something embarrassing. She has her friend Paige's sleepover tomorrow night and is so excited she can hardly bear it. I wonder if she will actually sleep over :) I always HATED sleepovers but thought I had to do them. Because of that I'm careful to ask if she really wants to do it and I make sure she understands she can come home if she gets lonesome.
William is William. What else can I say? He is hilarious and incredibly cute. He also has these tiny little devil horns starting to sprout and a tiny tail a-twitching and nobody can do anything about it because he is so damn cute we can't stay mad and that includes his siblings. Phrases out of his mouth today include "I don't like it when Elijah touches my toys" "I can play with Elijah's toys, yes I can!" "I want what Ben's eating"
I guess that's enough of an update for now. My dog awaits.
TGS
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Peter Piker Pipped a Pack of Pippled Packers
Ben's homework was a worksheet of the letter "P". It's a weekly thing and comes in checklist form with different questions or activities about the letter of the week. It's always entertaining to get a glimpse inside that interesting head! One of the items was to say the famous tongue twister "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers". Now, keep in mind, this is Ben, who has a unique speech pattern to begin with. It came out like the title of the blog today....
Another item was "Have you ever Played in the gym with a Parachute?" He thought for a minute and said "I LOVE that!"
He and Lij have been best buds since Lij came back from his banishment/great adventure. It did them good to be apart for just a tiny bit. The downside is that when they get going on their boy stuff they are annoying...but just a little!
Lij was home sick again today but should be OK to go back tomorrow. He told me that Ashwey in his cwass missed a whole bunch of school one time. I asked him why and he said he thought she had an affection.
Ben finished his number line up to 100 and was excited to show me that when I got home at the end of my busy day today. He had another surprise for me: where 100 leaves off, ABCD has begun. I can't wait to see what comes after Z!
Peeps were getting rowdy at snack time and I was getting snarky. At one point I said "ExCUSE me?" to some sort of misbehavior. The gravity of the moment was destroyed pretty quick by a pipsqueak "Yeah, EXCUSE ME!" from our resident comedian.
Zac is really into following the big boys around now. Wherever they are, if you look close (and low), you'll see a fuzzy head. He does pull himself up to stand now when there is something he can reach but that has to be pretty low to qualify as he has not yet recieved the gift of height. At all.
And then we come to the Brownie. We had our cookie kick off on Monday night (that sounds so suburban house-wifey) and the cookie sales start officially on Sunday. She has a competetive glint in her eye and a few nice prizes circled in her cookie sales guide. This is her 3rd year and she is looking to top her past numbers of about 150 boxes of cookies. It's been an excellent th ing for her because she is very shy at first (like me, and don't laugh, because it's true--emphasis on at first). She's had to do almost every last sale on her own since she started because I get annoyed by parents selling for their kids (and besides, I'm too shy...hahahahaha!) and I've been really proud of how well she's done. This year she got right to it with some personal calls to previous customers with good track records (Gramma and Joanie are always hit up first!). This year, for the first time, I'm going to let her stick her stuff up on the bulletin board at the bakery rather than individually approaching employees as I had her do in the past. Don't be surprised if you get an email or a phone call from a certain ambitious someone with her eye on a new strobe light for her room. Of course it's OK to say no, that's part of the experience for the cookie seller. Just be nice about it :)
Now, onto me, I had my second day of the last semester of this nursing program. A really interesting class is going to be OB. Of interest is the nomenclature for pregnant women; never pregnant is nullipara, first pregnancy is primapara, more than one is multipara, and then we get to the queen of them all: THE GRAND MULTIPARA! I kid you not, that's the term for people like me who don't know when to stop. And get this, after age 35 they tag "elderly" before it.
Elderly grand multipara. If I'm elderly..........well...............are my parents extinct?
Another item was "Have you ever Played in the gym with a Parachute?" He thought for a minute and said "I LOVE that!"
He and Lij have been best buds since Lij came back from his banishment/great adventure. It did them good to be apart for just a tiny bit. The downside is that when they get going on their boy stuff they are annoying...but just a little!
Lij was home sick again today but should be OK to go back tomorrow. He told me that Ashwey in his cwass missed a whole bunch of school one time. I asked him why and he said he thought she had an affection.
Ben finished his number line up to 100 and was excited to show me that when I got home at the end of my busy day today. He had another surprise for me: where 100 leaves off, ABCD has begun. I can't wait to see what comes after Z!
Peeps were getting rowdy at snack time and I was getting snarky. At one point I said "ExCUSE me?" to some sort of misbehavior. The gravity of the moment was destroyed pretty quick by a pipsqueak "Yeah, EXCUSE ME!" from our resident comedian.
Zac is really into following the big boys around now. Wherever they are, if you look close (and low), you'll see a fuzzy head. He does pull himself up to stand now when there is something he can reach but that has to be pretty low to qualify as he has not yet recieved the gift of height. At all.
And then we come to the Brownie. We had our cookie kick off on Monday night (that sounds so suburban house-wifey) and the cookie sales start officially on Sunday. She has a competetive glint in her eye and a few nice prizes circled in her cookie sales guide. This is her 3rd year and she is looking to top her past numbers of about 150 boxes of cookies. It's been an excellent th ing for her because she is very shy at first (like me, and don't laugh, because it's true--emphasis on at first). She's had to do almost every last sale on her own since she started because I get annoyed by parents selling for their kids (and besides, I'm too shy...hahahahaha!) and I've been really proud of how well she's done. This year she got right to it with some personal calls to previous customers with good track records (Gramma and Joanie are always hit up first!). This year, for the first time, I'm going to let her stick her stuff up on the bulletin board at the bakery rather than individually approaching employees as I had her do in the past. Don't be surprised if you get an email or a phone call from a certain ambitious someone with her eye on a new strobe light for her room. Of course it's OK to say no, that's part of the experience for the cookie seller. Just be nice about it :)
Now, onto me, I had my second day of the last semester of this nursing program. A really interesting class is going to be OB. Of interest is the nomenclature for pregnant women; never pregnant is nullipara, first pregnancy is primapara, more than one is multipara, and then we get to the queen of them all: THE GRAND MULTIPARA! I kid you not, that's the term for people like me who don't know when to stop. And get this, after age 35 they tag "elderly" before it.
Elderly grand multipara. If I'm elderly..........well...............are my parents extinct?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Fish part II
I know my mom is afraid I'm going to tell a different story, but I'm not. Email me if you want to hear the really good one.
So anyway after all that excitement of catching the fish, telling the fish stories, planning the meal, and all that, tonight was the big night. Brian cooked the fish.
And Elijah announced that he doesn't like fish.
Goodnight, world!
So anyway after all that excitement of catching the fish, telling the fish stories, planning the meal, and all that, tonight was the big night. Brian cooked the fish.
And Elijah announced that he doesn't like fish.
Goodnight, world!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Fish
There was no other possible title for this entry. I've been in absentia for a couple days because Ive been busy enjoying the peace and quiet of only 4 kids. Elijah, as you recall, spent the weekend in Wisconsin. He needed a break and so did I :) He had a wonderful time and had his first big ice fishing adventure, with Uncle Hans and Grandpa Jack. And--big news--he caught 2 fish! One of them was smallish (about this big) and one of them, I'm telling you, was a good 4 feet long and had really, really, really, BIG teeth! It is growing although it is cut into little pieces and marinating in my fridge. You should see the little brothers when the oldest and wisest is sharing the details about that fish. Keep in mind that William already has isues with the thought of big fish in the dark with teeth. I don't think this will be helping.
I talked to Lij on the phone when he got back to Grandma's after fishing. I asked him if he had a good time, he said "Yes!". So then I asked him if he talked the whole time. "Yes!" I later asked Grandpa to confirm and he, also, said "Yes!" Grandpa also shared that after the fish was pulled out and left to freeze, Lij kept saying he wanted to "melt" it. I think he meant thaw.....
Brian met Mom in Cambridge this afternoon to retrieve the great adventurer and he has made a grand re-entrance to civilian life, armed with colorful stories of fish and feat. He brought souvenirs for his siblings as mementos of his trip; if I recall correctly from the few minutes I talked to him (they stopped by to see me at the VA) he had fruit snacks and gum for each. He has some concerns about Zac eating the fish because there might be bones in it, but the rest of us will be treated to a fishy feast tomorrow evening.
He also has awot of dowwars, I believe it is now 4 total, which he will be using to buy Hot Wheels for his new cowwection.
Ben has an interesting new project going on. Since heading back to school last Monday he has been working on cutting little circles, about 2 inches in diameter, out of construction paper and gluing them to the wall in the porch, making a straight and long trail all along the wall, around a corner, and continueing on the next wall. He is numbering them and at last check he was on number 73. I asked him how he can count to 73 and he told me "Because I can count to 100!" He was very excited to have his big brother coming home and even cleaned his corner for him.
Now for a Wils story. Remember my New Year's resolution to stop swearing? It might be too late. He was heard muttering as he walked away to put his pajamas on "Oh, allright, G****mn it". Sorry, I know it's awful, and I'm working hard to reverse it, but there is something pretty funny about a blonde angel saying that with a smile on his face. Especially one who looks like me, except blonde and tiny. I told him that I don't swear any more and he shouldn't either.
At work tonight I got an email from Ariana; she was mad at her Dad. I just love her emails. I didn't blame her for being mad, either; she gets mad when he doesn't listen and so do I! The email went like this:
"Hi Mommy, Daddy is really being mean. He wants me to do my homework but I said I have til Thursday and he said I don't care! Then I said I will do it tomorrow!!! and he said if you don't do it tonight i take your money away! I said no! he said alright your fault! Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggg!"
I didn't know she knew about "AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrgggg!" hahahaha! I don't think he would really take her money away and I disagree with that anyway. I think he really didn't understand that it's not due til Thursday.
Now, about me. I had a date last night for the first time in about 4 years. We had the bakery Christmas party, which we havent been going to. I was so excited to actually get to go out. We had Joanie babysitting for the 4 remaining kids (with Zac in bed right away so more like 3) and the party was right in Cold Spring. I got dressed to the 9s (which I have only done for baptisms in the last 8 years) and was pretty cute if I do say so myself.
And he was too busy checking his blackberry for football scores and going to the bar for replays to pay any attention to the party or anything else. As Ana said.....AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrggggggg!!!!!!!" At one point I suggested that maybe we should visit a bit since we rarely have the opportunity, so he started talking about Randy Moss. I told him it would be really nice to talk about something other than football. Being the obedient sort he is, he came back with "OK.....Gopher basketball looking better......"
You know the saying, if it weren't for the kids................
I talked to Lij on the phone when he got back to Grandma's after fishing. I asked him if he had a good time, he said "Yes!". So then I asked him if he talked the whole time. "Yes!" I later asked Grandpa to confirm and he, also, said "Yes!" Grandpa also shared that after the fish was pulled out and left to freeze, Lij kept saying he wanted to "melt" it. I think he meant thaw.....
Brian met Mom in Cambridge this afternoon to retrieve the great adventurer and he has made a grand re-entrance to civilian life, armed with colorful stories of fish and feat. He brought souvenirs for his siblings as mementos of his trip; if I recall correctly from the few minutes I talked to him (they stopped by to see me at the VA) he had fruit snacks and gum for each. He has some concerns about Zac eating the fish because there might be bones in it, but the rest of us will be treated to a fishy feast tomorrow evening.
He also has awot of dowwars, I believe it is now 4 total, which he will be using to buy Hot Wheels for his new cowwection.
Ben has an interesting new project going on. Since heading back to school last Monday he has been working on cutting little circles, about 2 inches in diameter, out of construction paper and gluing them to the wall in the porch, making a straight and long trail all along the wall, around a corner, and continueing on the next wall. He is numbering them and at last check he was on number 73. I asked him how he can count to 73 and he told me "Because I can count to 100!" He was very excited to have his big brother coming home and even cleaned his corner for him.
Now for a Wils story. Remember my New Year's resolution to stop swearing? It might be too late. He was heard muttering as he walked away to put his pajamas on "Oh, allright, G****mn it". Sorry, I know it's awful, and I'm working hard to reverse it, but there is something pretty funny about a blonde angel saying that with a smile on his face. Especially one who looks like me, except blonde and tiny. I told him that I don't swear any more and he shouldn't either.
At work tonight I got an email from Ariana; she was mad at her Dad. I just love her emails. I didn't blame her for being mad, either; she gets mad when he doesn't listen and so do I! The email went like this:
"Hi Mommy, Daddy is really being mean. He wants me to do my homework but I said I have til Thursday and he said I don't care! Then I said I will do it tomorrow!!! and he said if you don't do it tonight i take your money away! I said no! he said alright your fault! Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggg!"
I didn't know she knew about "AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrgggg!" hahahaha! I don't think he would really take her money away and I disagree with that anyway. I think he really didn't understand that it's not due til Thursday.
Now, about me. I had a date last night for the first time in about 4 years. We had the bakery Christmas party, which we havent been going to. I was so excited to actually get to go out. We had Joanie babysitting for the 4 remaining kids (with Zac in bed right away so more like 3) and the party was right in Cold Spring. I got dressed to the 9s (which I have only done for baptisms in the last 8 years) and was pretty cute if I do say so myself.
And he was too busy checking his blackberry for football scores and going to the bar for replays to pay any attention to the party or anything else. As Ana said.....AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrggggggg!!!!!!!" At one point I suggested that maybe we should visit a bit since we rarely have the opportunity, so he started talking about Randy Moss. I told him it would be really nice to talk about something other than football. Being the obedient sort he is, he came back with "OK.....Gopher basketball looking better......"
You know the saying, if it weren't for the kids................
Thursday, January 10, 2008
&(*^)(*&)(*^!!!
I almost didn't post tonight because I was so mad at some people I would have broken my New Years resolution of not swearing. Would you believe I actually told them I am very tired of their...BALONEY!? I did! Yay me! What the hell is up with that?
Of course, the day was not without its' hightlights. Ariana cried this morning when I told her that Zac will be 1 in 10 weeks. She said, in a tiny, weepy, voice, "but I don't wannnnnt him to be one!" Let that be a testament to anyone who feels sorry for her that she has had so many baby brothers.
I start back to school next week for my last semester of nursing school (yay! I'll only be an LPN at first, but hey, that's a nurse!) and I made special arrangements for Ben to go to his best friend Henry's house on Monday afternoons. It's not that he couldn't go with his younger brothers to Charlottes or stay home with Dad, I just know how much he enjoys hanging out with Henry. Henry's mom, Stacey, has been most open to the idea. God, I hope he behaves. So anyway she told me the cutest thing. She said that Henry wrote "B" on his calendar on every Monday. I msut also mention that there are also "G"s on Henry's Mondays because those are the days he gets to bring in the empty garbage can. Henry is a most unusual guy, and I've wondered many a time at the serendipity that would bring such a friend for MY unusual guy.
Elijah leaves tomorrow to spend the weekend in Wisconsin. He needs a break from himself. As I mentioned, he will be ice fishing with Hans, but he also has an important job to do in keeping Reilly occupied because Terrie is in Las Vegas for a quick getaway with her sister, and poor Reilly is beside herself with missing her mom. For those of you who don't know my family, I have to add here that Reilly will be 11 in June. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I had to add that because one would think she was maybe approaching 5 or so. That just kills me! It's so darling that she likes her mom so much. Even funnier, she kept her dad up all night last night. If you know my brother Gary, you know that's not a great idea. It's even worse that keeping ME up all night. Anyway Reilly is a most mature, wonderful, little girl, and as I tell her all the time, she is allll I have!
Lij told me today that he needs Grandma to give him a little trim because his hair is getting too big. And then he added she needs to trim his tail too. Those were his exact words. He has one of those little tails of hair at the back of his head (just naturally shaped that way) but the way he said it I really pictured something else. And as for his hair getting too big, I went to high school in the late 80s. It rung a bell. He's really, right, though, because he has a big giant head to start with, and long hair on him gets poofy and makes his big giant head even bigger.
I went to the elementary school again today for one last visit before I go back myself. I was even allowed into third grade to hang out for a bit, but she sure watches my every move lest I embarrass her by breathing incorrectly. I had a talk with her about it tonight and she is going to try not to be so self...or is it mother?...conscious. They had gym and I went with for that; they were shooting baskets and I wanted to play soooo bad but she said mothers don't shoot baskets when they visit. I also read with Elijah again and this time his friend Allie asked if she could sit with the two of us and he liked that idea too so I got to see them interact. They are too cute. The best part? She can't say her "R"'s. He can't say his "L"s. So, as Judy says, they both sound like Elmer Fudd! He reads quite a bit better than she and he is very gracious in assisting her and very cautious to not make her feel belittled. He is really quite the gentleman in public. IN PUBLIC.
Ana told me a good one about having what she called "farty beans" for lunch. She loved them and so did Lij, they want me to buy some. Should I? Or should I not? You be the judge.
She is invited to a sleepover at her friend Paije's next Friday. She is very excited.
Nothing big to announce on Wils or Zac. Oh, I guess one quick cute thing about Zac. There comes a time in every young Schurman man's life when he leaves mommy and becomes a part of the gang. Tonight Zac took this big step. The whole crew was in Ana's room doing something (I should add I have no idea what). I was here at the computer working on something myself. The door to Ana's room opened and this long line of people came filing out. Lij, Ben, Wil...and then....on his tummy, doing his wormy army scoot, comes Zac! It was hilarious. He followed them right to the next destination, too. Took awhile for him to get there, but he did. Just one of the guys. Of course, he had to have nummies and go night nights in his night night bed shortly thereafter. The disadvantages to being the youngest!
One more school story. When I arrived in Ana's classroom they were doing a science experiment with ice cubes and salt. Tonight after supper she set the whole thing up and showed her brothers and then they did it too. I would bet money on her being a teacher when she grows up.
Of course, the day was not without its' hightlights. Ariana cried this morning when I told her that Zac will be 1 in 10 weeks. She said, in a tiny, weepy, voice, "but I don't wannnnnt him to be one!" Let that be a testament to anyone who feels sorry for her that she has had so many baby brothers.
I start back to school next week for my last semester of nursing school (yay! I'll only be an LPN at first, but hey, that's a nurse!) and I made special arrangements for Ben to go to his best friend Henry's house on Monday afternoons. It's not that he couldn't go with his younger brothers to Charlottes or stay home with Dad, I just know how much he enjoys hanging out with Henry. Henry's mom, Stacey, has been most open to the idea. God, I hope he behaves. So anyway she told me the cutest thing. She said that Henry wrote "B" on his calendar on every Monday. I msut also mention that there are also "G"s on Henry's Mondays because those are the days he gets to bring in the empty garbage can. Henry is a most unusual guy, and I've wondered many a time at the serendipity that would bring such a friend for MY unusual guy.
Elijah leaves tomorrow to spend the weekend in Wisconsin. He needs a break from himself. As I mentioned, he will be ice fishing with Hans, but he also has an important job to do in keeping Reilly occupied because Terrie is in Las Vegas for a quick getaway with her sister, and poor Reilly is beside herself with missing her mom. For those of you who don't know my family, I have to add here that Reilly will be 11 in June. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I had to add that because one would think she was maybe approaching 5 or so. That just kills me! It's so darling that she likes her mom so much. Even funnier, she kept her dad up all night last night. If you know my brother Gary, you know that's not a great idea. It's even worse that keeping ME up all night. Anyway Reilly is a most mature, wonderful, little girl, and as I tell her all the time, she is allll I have!
Lij told me today that he needs Grandma to give him a little trim because his hair is getting too big. And then he added she needs to trim his tail too. Those were his exact words. He has one of those little tails of hair at the back of his head (just naturally shaped that way) but the way he said it I really pictured something else. And as for his hair getting too big, I went to high school in the late 80s. It rung a bell. He's really, right, though, because he has a big giant head to start with, and long hair on him gets poofy and makes his big giant head even bigger.
I went to the elementary school again today for one last visit before I go back myself. I was even allowed into third grade to hang out for a bit, but she sure watches my every move lest I embarrass her by breathing incorrectly. I had a talk with her about it tonight and she is going to try not to be so self...or is it mother?...conscious. They had gym and I went with for that; they were shooting baskets and I wanted to play soooo bad but she said mothers don't shoot baskets when they visit. I also read with Elijah again and this time his friend Allie asked if she could sit with the two of us and he liked that idea too so I got to see them interact. They are too cute. The best part? She can't say her "R"'s. He can't say his "L"s. So, as Judy says, they both sound like Elmer Fudd! He reads quite a bit better than she and he is very gracious in assisting her and very cautious to not make her feel belittled. He is really quite the gentleman in public. IN PUBLIC.
Ana told me a good one about having what she called "farty beans" for lunch. She loved them and so did Lij, they want me to buy some. Should I? Or should I not? You be the judge.
She is invited to a sleepover at her friend Paije's next Friday. She is very excited.
Nothing big to announce on Wils or Zac. Oh, I guess one quick cute thing about Zac. There comes a time in every young Schurman man's life when he leaves mommy and becomes a part of the gang. Tonight Zac took this big step. The whole crew was in Ana's room doing something (I should add I have no idea what). I was here at the computer working on something myself. The door to Ana's room opened and this long line of people came filing out. Lij, Ben, Wil...and then....on his tummy, doing his wormy army scoot, comes Zac! It was hilarious. He followed them right to the next destination, too. Took awhile for him to get there, but he did. Just one of the guys. Of course, he had to have nummies and go night nights in his night night bed shortly thereafter. The disadvantages to being the youngest!
One more school story. When I arrived in Ana's classroom they were doing a science experiment with ice cubes and salt. Tonight after supper she set the whole thing up and showed her brothers and then they did it too. I would bet money on her being a teacher when she grows up.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
hangman
Tonight we taught Ben how to play hangman using his sight words. This isn't a soft and fuzzy brag thread, just wait. So I was explaining the concept of building this "body" part by part, in the noose. He "got" it well and we were playing along and it was my turn to guess his word. I was letting him win. He was very excited and announced to his older siblings (in his clipped and nasal voice) "She will be dead soon."
Then later I played a game with Ana and she put curls on the dead person..........
It's time for this day to be over. Goodnight!
Then later I played a game with Ana and she put curls on the dead person..........
It's time for this day to be over. Goodnight!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
There's a monster under my truck
That was Wil's excuse for getting up out of his bed this evening. I can't say I've heard that one before! He was with me at the bakery this morning and he looked down the long scary stairs to the dark basement and asked if there were horses down there. I think we are going through a stage of experimenting with phobias.
Taking advantage of one more week off, I visited Elijah's classroom today. I joined him for his reading group and for art class. It was good to see him in that environment after having spent the better part of this week working on the ad putting him up for sale. As it turns out I might not have to anyway, because some lady in Wisconsin is going to rent him for the weekend and that might be enough to solve the problem. He is going to go ice fishing with his uncle hans! A wise friend pointed out that there will be no danger of them fishing on ice that is too thin. They are both extremely cautious individuals. They can be cautious (and greedy) together. One way they are very different: Elijah talks as much as Hans doesn't. Just like the old days when I talked as much as Hans didn't. {If you're thinking I still do, shut up.}
So anyway, his art teacher said he is an excellent listener and never gives her any trouble; she also loves his creativity and the ideas he comes up with. I could see during the class that what she said was true; he really does pay attention well and follows directions. We might need a maternity test to be sure he is really my kid. I also wonder if they don't zap though some sort of transformer between home and school.
A funny moment during the conversation with his teacher; I asked her if she was Ben's teacher too and she said yes. Then she said "Elijah is the oldest, right?" I said no, Ariana is the oldest and the only girl. And she said "Ariana is yours too????" hahahaha! She knew we had a lot of kids but didn't realize that one was mine. She does look different from her green eyed brothers.
I also got to observe his interactions with his classmates and friends. His pal Allie is a hoot. She reminds physically a bit of his other best friend, his big sister. Allie is a very outgoing and friendly girl and a big tomboy, too. She came up behind him and put him in a headlock when he and I were walking down the hall. It was hilarious. Bit of a knucklerub too. They sit together in just about every class and on the bus too. I'm just waiting til he asks if he can have a sleepover with her. I know it will happen! Ben has already asked about having Emma and Maggie overnight. The thing is, I really don't see why not; but I know their parents will think otherwise.
I'm going to go check William's room for monsters (and horshes) and head to bed.
Taking advantage of one more week off, I visited Elijah's classroom today. I joined him for his reading group and for art class. It was good to see him in that environment after having spent the better part of this week working on the ad putting him up for sale. As it turns out I might not have to anyway, because some lady in Wisconsin is going to rent him for the weekend and that might be enough to solve the problem. He is going to go ice fishing with his uncle hans! A wise friend pointed out that there will be no danger of them fishing on ice that is too thin. They are both extremely cautious individuals. They can be cautious (and greedy) together. One way they are very different: Elijah talks as much as Hans doesn't. Just like the old days when I talked as much as Hans didn't. {If you're thinking I still do, shut up.}
So anyway, his art teacher said he is an excellent listener and never gives her any trouble; she also loves his creativity and the ideas he comes up with. I could see during the class that what she said was true; he really does pay attention well and follows directions. We might need a maternity test to be sure he is really my kid. I also wonder if they don't zap though some sort of transformer between home and school.
A funny moment during the conversation with his teacher; I asked her if she was Ben's teacher too and she said yes. Then she said "Elijah is the oldest, right?" I said no, Ariana is the oldest and the only girl. And she said "Ariana is yours too????" hahahaha! She knew we had a lot of kids but didn't realize that one was mine. She does look different from her green eyed brothers.
I also got to observe his interactions with his classmates and friends. His pal Allie is a hoot. She reminds physically a bit of his other best friend, his big sister. Allie is a very outgoing and friendly girl and a big tomboy, too. She came up behind him and put him in a headlock when he and I were walking down the hall. It was hilarious. Bit of a knucklerub too. They sit together in just about every class and on the bus too. I'm just waiting til he asks if he can have a sleepover with her. I know it will happen! Ben has already asked about having Emma and Maggie overnight. The thing is, I really don't see why not; but I know their parents will think otherwise.
I'm going to go check William's room for monsters (and horshes) and head to bed.
Monday, January 7, 2008
helpers
The excitement of the day was that Elijah was the helper in school and Ben and Ariana get to be tomorrow. That is a pretty big deal I guess. Ben said he gets to do something with the calendar. I didn't catch the deets on what the other two do when it's their turn but will post about that tomorrow after the event :) It was a cute conversation, Elijah was talking about being the helper today and Ben got real excited and said "Lijah, I get to be helper toMORRow!" (emphasis his).
Ariana told me that her and her friend Paije wish they offered water and coffee at lunch along with the milk. That hit me pretty funny. I don't know many 8 year olds who want coffee with their school lunches. Understand, she and I enjoy a decaf now and again and I guess she has a taste for it. She said Paije likes water. Sounds like a down to earth kind of girl, wouldn't you say?
Wil has been very busy with his trucks and cars. He drives all day long. Lij came home from school crabby (growth spurt--will get to that in a minute) and was telling William that he (William) does NOT have a green hotwheels truck. A few minutes later William came driving in with his transport semitrailer that he got from Grandma for Christmas and said "Yes, I do, Lijah. See?" And he unloaded his green hotwheels truck. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Lij HATES to be wrong, almost as bad as I do!
Ben spent the afternoon making a mailbox out of a cereal box. It turned out pretty cool. When Ariana got home she said she wanted them all to make mailboxes for themselves so they could leave each other mail. I actually looked one year for toy mailboxes for them for Christmas but they are no longer made. I was so bummed; Hans and I used to have a lot of fun with "speedy dewiveries". I made myself a mailbox and put it outside my bedroom door, and he would make me something, put it in my mailbox, knock, say "Speedy dewivery!" and run away. So, I imagine we'll have a mailbox making day sometime soon.
Now, about the growth spurts, I think Ben just finished one and Lij is in the middle of one. The reason I suspect that is because, first of all, they've both been cranky as all get out; second, this morning they put their pants on--the RIGHT pants, I made sure of it--and they both had 2 inches of leg between their feet and their pants. They looked like a pair of spongebobs. So tonight we had to dig out our stash of growing-into clothes and now they are all set. They have some nice new Christmas clothes too.
We have a chore this week; we are feeding Lynn's animals while she and Dale are on the vacation. The funny thing is, I have no idea where they are. She travels so much I never have a clue where in the world (literally) she is. We have been doing this for years and in the beginning I did all the work, I think it started with me holding baby ana and cleaning the litter box with one hand; it has evolved to a big team effort and goes really fast. We take care of two big dogs, a bunch of cats (I have no idea how many are in the house because they never appear when I'm there with my own litter of kittens), a tank of fish, one plant, our own donkey, Lynn's pony, and her horse. This time all I had to do was the kitty litter, the kids did the rest. To be honest, Ben did most of it, while Lij farted around. Ana did help, but at a slower pace, and Wils was sticking close by because, you know, this was serious horsh territory.
Ariana is getting impatient for Zac to talk. I'm just hoping he'll grow! He pulls himself up to stand, but not, as I had to tell Mom, on furniture, because he can't reach it. So I lay on the floor and he pulls himself up to stand alongside me. Ana told me she holds him and says "Speak!". I wonder if she will ever get results. I picture him barking back at her. Speaking of barking, one of Lynn's dogs is extremely hard of hearing (late deafened, really) and barks with a deaf accent. It's pretty funny. It's too loud and nasal. I sign with her and she seems to understand (she is very smart, this is Missy). I did have to have a talk with the dogs about having parties when their mom and dad are gone, though, because their neighbor Gunther was there when we got there.
Well, I better get myself to bed. I'm off work from now until Sunday because I took vacation for Saturday's bakery Christmas party. This year we are actually going; it's been a few years. We have a sitter lined up for the kids and can't wait for the free booze. As I said, it's been years!
Ariana told me that her and her friend Paije wish they offered water and coffee at lunch along with the milk. That hit me pretty funny. I don't know many 8 year olds who want coffee with their school lunches. Understand, she and I enjoy a decaf now and again and I guess she has a taste for it. She said Paije likes water. Sounds like a down to earth kind of girl, wouldn't you say?
Wil has been very busy with his trucks and cars. He drives all day long. Lij came home from school crabby (growth spurt--will get to that in a minute) and was telling William that he (William) does NOT have a green hotwheels truck. A few minutes later William came driving in with his transport semitrailer that he got from Grandma for Christmas and said "Yes, I do, Lijah. See?" And he unloaded his green hotwheels truck. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Lij HATES to be wrong, almost as bad as I do!
Ben spent the afternoon making a mailbox out of a cereal box. It turned out pretty cool. When Ariana got home she said she wanted them all to make mailboxes for themselves so they could leave each other mail. I actually looked one year for toy mailboxes for them for Christmas but they are no longer made. I was so bummed; Hans and I used to have a lot of fun with "speedy dewiveries". I made myself a mailbox and put it outside my bedroom door, and he would make me something, put it in my mailbox, knock, say "Speedy dewivery!" and run away. So, I imagine we'll have a mailbox making day sometime soon.
Now, about the growth spurts, I think Ben just finished one and Lij is in the middle of one. The reason I suspect that is because, first of all, they've both been cranky as all get out; second, this morning they put their pants on--the RIGHT pants, I made sure of it--and they both had 2 inches of leg between their feet and their pants. They looked like a pair of spongebobs. So tonight we had to dig out our stash of growing-into clothes and now they are all set. They have some nice new Christmas clothes too.
We have a chore this week; we are feeding Lynn's animals while she and Dale are on the vacation. The funny thing is, I have no idea where they are. She travels so much I never have a clue where in the world (literally) she is. We have been doing this for years and in the beginning I did all the work, I think it started with me holding baby ana and cleaning the litter box with one hand; it has evolved to a big team effort and goes really fast. We take care of two big dogs, a bunch of cats (I have no idea how many are in the house because they never appear when I'm there with my own litter of kittens), a tank of fish, one plant, our own donkey, Lynn's pony, and her horse. This time all I had to do was the kitty litter, the kids did the rest. To be honest, Ben did most of it, while Lij farted around. Ana did help, but at a slower pace, and Wils was sticking close by because, you know, this was serious horsh territory.
Ariana is getting impatient for Zac to talk. I'm just hoping he'll grow! He pulls himself up to stand, but not, as I had to tell Mom, on furniture, because he can't reach it. So I lay on the floor and he pulls himself up to stand alongside me. Ana told me she holds him and says "Speak!". I wonder if she will ever get results. I picture him barking back at her. Speaking of barking, one of Lynn's dogs is extremely hard of hearing (late deafened, really) and barks with a deaf accent. It's pretty funny. It's too loud and nasal. I sign with her and she seems to understand (she is very smart, this is Missy). I did have to have a talk with the dogs about having parties when their mom and dad are gone, though, because their neighbor Gunther was there when we got there.
Well, I better get myself to bed. I'm off work from now until Sunday because I took vacation for Saturday's bakery Christmas party. This year we are actually going; it's been a few years. We have a sitter lined up for the kids and can't wait for the free booze. As I said, it's been years!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Picking Ana's brain
I like to email Ana questions to ponder and answer because it gives me a cool peek inside her head. My favorite was when I asked her what she would like to accomplish in 2008 and she said "write a series of books". I thought that was really neat. So now we are working on doing it!
Tonight I asked her "If you could ask a Titanic survivor a question, what would it be?" and her answer, again, was really cool. She said she would ask if it was the Captain's fault.
Then she wanted to ask me a question back, and that was "if you could fly an airplane over anywhere in the world, where would it be?" I told her over Luck, Wisconsin, and she said "Yeah, me too, but I don't want to go in an airplane"......................
So then I asked her what is the scariest thing she can think of and she said "It would be blood on someone's eyeball."
Let's assume she won't be following me into nursing.
PS If you have any ideas of questions I can ask her, let me know! I do ask Elijah sometimes too but so far he isn't going very deep into his big giant head. For example, when asked where he would choose to go if he could go anywhere, he said "Where Transformers are made."
Ben, I suspect, would give his stock "I don't know."
I'm kind of excited for William to get a bit older....I predict he will have some noteworthy answers as well. Probably downright hysterical.
Friday, January 4, 2008
green eggs and ham
I really don't mean to dwell on the topic of food, and I usually don't, but I'm having some serious problems here. I actually cooked green eggs and ham for supper. I was trying to make an omelette using what we had in the fridge (ham, eggs, and cheddar cheese) but I left them on the stovetop and forgot about them until I could smell them. The result was indeed green eggs. I didnt even TRY to make anyone eat that--straight to the garbage like the "brownies" (more aptly termed "blackies") from last night and the seared malt o meal from this morning's misadventures in homemaking. I took a picture of the blackies and will post them when i figure out how. Maybe I'll ask Lynn if the bakery wants to try my recipe. One thing is for sure--I'm done cooking for awhile. Brian is better at it and he can do it. I'll stick to laundry because he really sucks at that (or can you explain why my bra would be in ana's drawer?)
This morning was KIT (keeping in touch) for Ben's class; this is when parents get to go and join their student for an hour or so and just see what they are working on in class and whatnot. It was really fun, Ben loves all the silly songs they sing and all that (this same teacher had Elijah last year and gets a kick out of how diferent they are). The teacher had stations set up with different things to do and one station was making snowmen on blue paper using cotton balls and qtips. The cotton balls were for snow, I think, but as most of you already know, Ben glued two on to his snowperson's chest in the mammary region. Then and there I had a flash of what serial siblings have done to this young man's psyche. I've been breastfeeding too long. It reminded me of a few years back when Ariana asked "is there another baby in your tummy yet?"
After KIT with Ben I went to see Elijah and asked him if I could stay and join his reading time. He politely declined. I couldn't go see Ana because she had given me explicit instructions not to. If you are thinking that is kind of bratty of them, be assured their concerns are warranted. I thrive on embarrassing them. Did I ever tell you the school bus story? When I was pregnant with Zac the @#$!#$ bus driver (Werner Maus...yes, Werner Maus, and he drives the mouse bus) zipped right on by without stopping for my kids and I chased him down the road and yelled "Werner, you asshole!" and.........he stopped...........backed up.....and turned around.
Zac was a grouch today and reminded me a bit of Elijah as a baby in that he was super clingy and into everything. Let's hope this isnt a harbinger of things to come; while I love Elijah dearly, one of him is more than enough. Actually, one of Hans was enough and then I had to go and make another one.
Me and the gang all played charades tonight and had a great time. We let William try it and he did a doggie and did it very well. Ben is REALLY good at this game. It's a great game for CODA kids (Child of Deaf Adult, for those not familiar with the term).
William moved into a new corner today; Brian and Ben took the Christmas tree down and that left a space in the one remaining corner of the porch where all the other kids have their corners. He filled up his wagon with all of his things and moved them to his new corner. It was too cute. He came with me to menards, too, and said "I think I need some bubble gum."
That's it for tonight.......very tired from staying up til midnight reading an excellent book, Jon Hassler's North of Hope. Have you read it? I highly recommend it. It's set right here in the St. John's area and was written by a former professor there.
My dog awaits. Til tomorrow,
Tracy
This morning was KIT (keeping in touch) for Ben's class; this is when parents get to go and join their student for an hour or so and just see what they are working on in class and whatnot. It was really fun, Ben loves all the silly songs they sing and all that (this same teacher had Elijah last year and gets a kick out of how diferent they are). The teacher had stations set up with different things to do and one station was making snowmen on blue paper using cotton balls and qtips. The cotton balls were for snow, I think, but as most of you already know, Ben glued two on to his snowperson's chest in the mammary region. Then and there I had a flash of what serial siblings have done to this young man's psyche. I've been breastfeeding too long. It reminded me of a few years back when Ariana asked "is there another baby in your tummy yet?"
After KIT with Ben I went to see Elijah and asked him if I could stay and join his reading time. He politely declined. I couldn't go see Ana because she had given me explicit instructions not to. If you are thinking that is kind of bratty of them, be assured their concerns are warranted. I thrive on embarrassing them. Did I ever tell you the school bus story? When I was pregnant with Zac the @#$!#$ bus driver (Werner Maus...yes, Werner Maus, and he drives the mouse bus) zipped right on by without stopping for my kids and I chased him down the road and yelled "Werner, you asshole!" and.........he stopped...........backed up.....and turned around.
Zac was a grouch today and reminded me a bit of Elijah as a baby in that he was super clingy and into everything. Let's hope this isnt a harbinger of things to come; while I love Elijah dearly, one of him is more than enough. Actually, one of Hans was enough and then I had to go and make another one.
Me and the gang all played charades tonight and had a great time. We let William try it and he did a doggie and did it very well. Ben is REALLY good at this game. It's a great game for CODA kids (Child of Deaf Adult, for those not familiar with the term).
William moved into a new corner today; Brian and Ben took the Christmas tree down and that left a space in the one remaining corner of the porch where all the other kids have their corners. He filled up his wagon with all of his things and moved them to his new corner. It was too cute. He came with me to menards, too, and said "I think I need some bubble gum."
That's it for tonight.......very tired from staying up til midnight reading an excellent book, Jon Hassler's North of Hope. Have you read it? I highly recommend it. It's set right here in the St. John's area and was written by a former professor there.
My dog awaits. Til tomorrow,
Tracy
Thursday, January 3, 2008
brownies
Forgot to add that we had another adventure in baking this evening. You would think I wouldn't bother trying when I can get it all for free (as the saying goes........) but we have fun with it. Until it's time to clean up...
My problem when I bake is that I don't follow directions, just like everything else. So we started with a basic brownie recipe (not from a mix, no, no, I must do from scratch!). Then we figured maybe some carmel would be good in there too. So we melted that and put that in. I was out of flour but had malt o meal, and you know you can make brownies with that, right? So we used that. I had some white chips (like chocolate chips but white, and not very tasty) to use up, so we put that in too.
The batter was really good. I got kinda sick.
So we stuck it in the oven for awhile at 350 (i did get that part right) and after awhile checked on it and it was fluffing all over the oven. And I do mean all over. Good thing we have a self-cleaning oven and the husband takes care of it. It still smells in here like burning brownie fluff. He just left for work and asked what smells and I told him to never mind.
My problem when I bake is that I don't follow directions, just like everything else. So we started with a basic brownie recipe (not from a mix, no, no, I must do from scratch!). Then we figured maybe some carmel would be good in there too. So we melted that and put that in. I was out of flour but had malt o meal, and you know you can make brownies with that, right? So we used that. I had some white chips (like chocolate chips but white, and not very tasty) to use up, so we put that in too.
The batter was really good. I got kinda sick.
So we stuck it in the oven for awhile at 350 (i did get that part right) and after awhile checked on it and it was fluffing all over the oven. And I do mean all over. Good thing we have a self-cleaning oven and the husband takes care of it. It still smells in here like burning brownie fluff. He just left for work and asked what smells and I told him to never mind.
my first post
If you're wondering about the title of my blog, it's about the kids :) I get off on witty repartee like one brick short of a load, and this is my version of it. I need a place to record some of the great stories going on here.
Story number one: today William told me that "Blue and Jamie are on the deck and they want to come in because they are scared of a big fish in the dark."
Keep in mind this guy has been regressing to babyhood and pretending he can't talk.....not like anybody's ever believed him, but one would think he would realize he was blowing his cover just a tad.
We (Ana and I) have no idea where he got the idea of a big fish in the dark, but he did glance around a little as he said it, so I suspect it makes him nervous like "horshes" do. He did tell me later, in a way that sounded like he was sort of comforting himself rather than me, that "it's ok, because the big fishes are under the ice."
Horshes, however, are not.........
Story number one: today William told me that "Blue and Jamie are on the deck and they want to come in because they are scared of a big fish in the dark."
Keep in mind this guy has been regressing to babyhood and pretending he can't talk.....not like anybody's ever believed him, but one would think he would realize he was blowing his cover just a tad.
We (Ana and I) have no idea where he got the idea of a big fish in the dark, but he did glance around a little as he said it, so I suspect it makes him nervous like "horshes" do. He did tell me later, in a way that sounded like he was sort of comforting himself rather than me, that "it's ok, because the big fishes are under the ice."
Horshes, however, are not.........
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